The effects rejection from an audition can have on your practice.

The effects rejection from an audition can have on your practice.

The Coronavirus pandemic tested us all in different ways but most importantly it tested our mental health and how we were able to control it at such a difficult time. It lead me to question what services are in place for a dancer and while there are many charities/hotlines for mental health in general I struggled to find one aimed specifically for people with/wanting to pursue a career in the ARTS. I have felt lost with what I wanted to do as I know dancing is a passion of mine but performing hasn't worked out for me due to various reasons. This new spark of interest has pointed me towards a career goal I desperately want to achieve and somewhere I can really see my practice going. I would love to be a councillor in a Performing Arts college or a Therapist (eventually) aimed specifically at people within this industry as I feel like it is something we are really lacking. I haven't felt passion like this in so long and as my practice has shifted into another direction I am excited for my journey to start.

During the pandemic, like many I took up a new career path in social media and marketing. With the knowledge I have gained from this role I am able to transfer my skills to advertise and target people in need of help. This is an example of having a Portfolio career. This is defined as having multiple careers at the same time and using your skillset to transfer to each job. I eventually would like to set up an online platform aimed at students/professionals in the ARTS to reach out and hopefully get the help they need.

Although the reason I want to research this isn't based on auditions as such I feel it where a series of mental health issues can start. Rejection (from an audition for example) might often contribute to pre-existing conditions such as stress and anxiety or lead to their development. Similarly, these and other mental health conditions can exacerbate feelings of rejection.

It was interesting to find MRI studies comparing the brain activity in people who had experienced rejection with brain activity of people who had experienced physical pain. They found that many of the same regions of the brain lit up. Subsequent research shows that taking acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) after experiencing rejection actually reduced how much pain people reported feeling and the brain scans showed neural pain signalling was lessened. It raised the question - Do we treat mental and physical pain the same in day to day life?

Most of the research I have done surrounding this topic has shed a negative light on this inquiry but I am interested in looking at the positive psychology of rejection and how it can build a stronger resilience. I touched base on this in my Module 1 essay with Martin Seligmans idea of the 3 P's. which is something that I have taken with me into my practice today. I would also like to dissect the casting process and look at audition culture. 

Below are questions I have surrounding this inquiry. Some of which I would really like to reword and use in my survey. As this can be a sensitive topic to discuss I am going to make my interviews anonymous this should allow the interviewee to really feel comfortable opening up around such serious topics of discussion. I have also thought about interviewing a casting director for their thoughts on the topic as it would give a different perspective however I think it would be less beneficial to what I want to find out from the inquiry.

1. Do casting directors have a duty of care for your mental health during and after an audition process?
2. What aftercare is given after an audition?
3. What resources are available for a dancer/performers mental health? 
4. Does the fear of rejection stop us from putting ourselves out there?
5. Has being rejected from an audition affected your mental health? If so was that feeling there before or was it developed through an audition experience?
6. What can we do to make auditions a safer environment?
7. Do you think feedback from an audition would be beneficial? 

This was a complete series of thoughts and felt really good to write down and digest as I go. Interested to hear some thoughts/discussion you may have around this!

A x

Focus 1

I would like to look at the impact "Survival Work" has on a professional dancers practice.

I feel I can't always give 100% to auditioning due to working other jobs to ultimately survive. For me attending an audition means taking unpaid leave from work, travelling into London to sometimes spend 45 minutes in an audition room. Other times I have been recalled often meaning I have to travel back into London the next day and call in sick to work. It means having to be unprofessional to your employer and consequently leaves you with a bad reputation which could result in losing your job. It is a hard work balance to achieve and one I think would benefit from change.

I am interested to see what groups of people this affects and whether there are any patterns between them. For example - Are the Arts structured towards certain socio economic groups? Should production companies contribute towards the cost of an audition? Would it be more beneficial to do all castings online first and then ask to see a selected few? Is that fair? Is it ethical? I would also like to look at the mental impact it can have on a professional dancer not being able to pursue their career fully due to other engagements they have to do in order to survive.

Research topics that sparked my interest:

• Survival is 'the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.' (Oxford Dictionary n.d)
• Survival Psychology (Leach, J. 1994)
  'Survival is a very personal and lonely thing'
  'Human Performance under hostile conditions cannot be explained solely within the realm of psychology'
  'Psychological conditions such as hunger and thirst and environmental conditions such as isolation and crowding, all play their part in a mans being'
  'Anyone who still suffers psychologically from its effect to the extent it interferes in their every day life's remains a victim'
• Auditioning Culture
  Audition meaning 'an interview for a role or job as a singer, actor, dancer or musician, consisting of a practical demonstration of the candidates suitability and skill' (Oxford Dictionary n.d)
  Culture meaning 1. 'the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society'. 2. 'the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively' (Oxford Dictionary n.d)
• Portfolio Careers 
  "A portfolio career is when you have multiple careers at the same time through part time, contract or freelance work. This means that instead of specialising in one industry, you specialise in a skillset and you apply that laterally across multiple industries." 
  So why might a portfolio career be perfect for the new-normal way of working? "In a post–Corona world, having a portfolio career will help us be more resilient because you have multiple sources of income rather than focusing on one in particular, which means if there are changes in one industry you are working in, that's okay, because you have several other jobs or opportunities lined up in another one." There are also lifestyle benefits to working in a portfolio career, "You sometimes get to do a more traditional job, but also use your more creative side of your brain alongside it, for example, I mentor somebody who is a doctor four days a week, but on Friday they work as a jewellery designer and sell their jewellery online." (BBC Bitesize 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zktbn9q)

I haven't fully come up with an inquiry question as such yet, my focus is still quite large. I am looking forward to researching some more and really honing in on one point! 

FINDING A FOCUS...

Over the next few weeks I am going to be looking at completing a cycle to help shape my inquiry. The first step is Finding a Focus. 

Reading my essay from module 1 helped me identify parts of my practice I am really interested in and want to investigate further. At the moment I have two very different topics I would like to explore and discuss in my 1-1 with Sam. 

These are: 

1. The importance of Rejection in a Dancer: Confronting rejection was one of my AOL's in the first module. 
2. Benefits of dance in children: This was something I did a lot of research about prior but never discussed in my essay. I do not work/have my own children nor do I teach dance but is a topic I am very keen to look into more. I am not sure if it is something I can write about as I do not have any experience in this field. 

Something that grabbed me when reading the handbook was the term "survival work". For me this is working a 9-5 office job in order to pay my bills and generally live. It is ultimately what funds you to achieve your career within the ARTS. It resonated with me so I would also like to look around this as a term and see if I can cooperate it into an inquiry topic. 

It seems like a lot of work to do this module, I am feeling overwhelmed but excited to get stuck in at the same time. Module 2 here we go!

Module T W O

After what seems like the busiest couple of months with work, starting new contracts and socialising it feels good to finally sit down and start Module 2. Being back at work full time and studying is going to be a struggle so setting time aside and being strict with a schedule is a must for me this module. As Time Management was an AOL for me in Module 1 I have learnt about the importance of work life balance so would like to take this on board throughout this module. 

POA for this week - Read and annotate the handbook!!!

Looking forward to having a chat with my tutor Sam in the next couple of weeks about feedback from last module and what this course holds for the next term. 

Hope everyone has had a great summer.

Abigail x

Advice for Module 1's

 The things I wish I knew...

I thought it would be helpful to do a post not only to help anyone new on the BAPP course but to refresh some key tips that I can take into module two. 

❤  When reading the handbook don't worry if you don't understand things, research words/explore theories 

❤ All the information you need is in the module handbook as well as on past and current students blogs. I found it super helpful to read and discuss what other people were thinking. It helped sparked new ideas. Be open and honest the more you share the more discussion and new ideas you get out of it. I messaged so many people on the course for help - you will be surprised at how many people are in the same boat as you!

Lastly, this course is all about your personal journey and experiences. All information is relevant - past and present. It is so overwhelming to start, I remember thinking "I am so out of my depth here" but once you pass a few barriers it becomes a lot clearer.

Good Luck everyone! X